


Zero

by GalacticCat1



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), Steven Universe - Fandom
Genre: Anorexia, Eating Disorders, Garnet - Freeform, Other, not updated very often sorry, pearlnet if you squint - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-18 01:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9357572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticCat1/pseuds/GalacticCat1
Summary: (This just popped into my head, it'all probably be garbage but let me write bad fanfics ok?)One comment at the boardwalk,Two skipped meals,Three sizes down,Four days to die.Set in an AU where gems have to eat.





	1. The Boardwalk

**Author's Note:**

> If it isn't obvious, major trigger warning. 
> 
> Please leave a kudos and comment, any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Don't be afraid to be rude, I appreciate honesty!

Garnet drew in a deep breath. Steven walking next to her, she gazed around the Boardwalk. There was not a cloud in sight, the salth smell of the ocean filling the air. It was on days like these that Garnet was reminded what she fought for.

Sunshine poured from the sky, heating the Earth to a lovely summer day. The breeze rippled the calm harbour; waves glistening in the light. Seagulls glided in the wind. The two sets of feet strolled down the Beach City Boardwalk, popsicles in hand and reeking of the copious amounts of sunscreen that Pearl had forced them to wear.

"Garnet, you of all gems should know that you're sensitive to the sun!"

"I'll be  _fine."_

It was at the moment that Pearl threatened to put the sunscreen on for her.

Steven caught a spare drop of his sugary treat with his tongue, successfully catching the drop but spilling even more the other side, landing on his shirt in the process.

"Naw man..." He muttered, a large drip making its way down his tank top.

Garnet chucked, the popsicle dripping even more now that he'd stopped paying attention to it. "Lets get some napkins." She suggested, more as a statement. They had neared the fry shop, Garnet grabbing a handful of napkins and wiping off the boys face and shirt, disposing them in the garbage can kept next to the counter.

"Thanks." Steven said, taking another lick of his neglected treat. The two kept walking, idly chatting about the few common grounds they shared. They didn't spend that much time together as friends, Steven had only known Garnet as an authority figure. Keeping up a conversation, he found, was hard. It wasn't that they weren't close, Garnet just didn't talk much.

The sun seemed to have flown across the sky. As their day of carnival games and roller coasters drew close to an end, the air falling a few degrees and sun beginning to set, the two gems started to walk home, following the boardwalk to where it met the beach and laughing about the events of that day.

"We should get fries!" Steven excitedly suggested as they past the fry shop, eyes lit up as he begged without words. Garnet pretended to think, biting her lip and turning her head to one side. "I dunno..." She said sarcastically though her mind was already set. Steven pouted his lips. "I'll be your best friend!"

Garnet smiled. "Well in that case," she leaned on the counter to the fry shop, waiting for Steven to say his line. "Gimme the bits!" He put his elbows on the counter, PeeDee already having gone to get the remains of that days fries.

"You're lucky." PeeDee emerged with two trays of fry bits. "We had lots of orders today."

After thanking the fry shop worker for the food, the pair were finally headed home. The sunset splayed out across the oceans horizon was a beautiful bright pink, jumping out of the clouds that had begun to cover it. Nearing the end of the boardwalk, the two were less than 10 minutes from the temple, where they had made bets on how long Pearl would rant about Amethysts behaviour.

"YO THICK GIRL!"

Garnet mindlessly turned in the direction of the noise, a group of guys loitering by one of the shop windows, illuminated by the street lamps that had flickers . "I KNOW WHERE THOSE ARE GOING!" One of them yelled, earning laughter and high fives from the rest of the gang.

"Steven, look over there." Garnet pointed in the opposite direction of the group. She shot them a dirty look, flashing a middle finger when Steven looked away.

As they stepped onto the beach, Steven looked up to Garnet. "That was pretty mean..." His voice held emotion, almost quavering. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's a group of strangers, I don't really care."


	2. Mirror

But she did care. A lot. Words hastily shouted from a group of drunken teens shouldn't cause such a response, but they did...

She stared in the mirror, eyes locking with the ones of her reflection. Curves lined her body, emphasized by her shorts that left her bare legs open. Her eyes fell down to her thick calves, drawing in a deep breath to hold back tears of newly formed emotions about her body. Her stomach bulged out, nearly spilling over the shorts. Two hands moved to her stomach, hugged tightly by a tank top. She lifted the top, pinching her belly fat.

She winced, nearly able to grab a handful of stomach fat. That's not healthy... That's not pretty either...

Her thoughts wandered from her belly to her thighs, which were smushed up against each other in what was definitely not a thigh gap. Even her arms carried extra weight to them, which were absolutely not like Pearls dainty little arms with shoulder blades that popped out.

"Thick girl?" Garnet whispered to herself, hands letting go of her shirt and poking at her hips. Her fingers were sadly met with the fat that cushioned her hips. Frowning at herself in the mirror, she turned to the side to see just how much her belly stuck out. Garnet nearly cried, un-successfully trying to suck in her gut and push apart her thighs. "Am I fat?" She asked her reflection, taking her lack of response for a 'yes'.

She'd never put much thought into her body, always eating the right foods and exercising, it has always seemed healthy for her to have this much weight. "Do I eat too much?" She whispered, making a mental list of everything she ate that day. There was her coffee, orange and bagel for breakfast, that salad and toast, the chips, take out Chinese...

"I eat too much..."

Stepping away from the mirror and taking a deep breath, she wandered to the other side of the bathroom in slow steps. Anxiously and cautiously lifting one foot, she rested it on the scale, already feeling anxiety from the number it read. Garnet placed the other foot on the scale, nearly crying when she saw the number.

186 pounds.

To someone else that should've been followed by an: 'oh, I'm 6'4", this is healthy'. But that thought never crossed her mind, focusing on the scale and nothing but the scale. With another deep breath she slowly stepped off the bathroom scale, returning to the floor length mirror.

"I'm fat." Garnet spoke, just a little too loudly. None of the other gems got hungry as often as she did, and heck, she couldn't think that Amethyst even ate that much. She was the only gem who weighed that much. She was the only gem who'd been called fat.

Minutes of staring in the mirror passed, leaving Garnet in a state of emotional wreckage. "What do I do..." She whispered. In the back of her head a light went off, giving way to one of the best ideas she's ever had. It's simple, really. All you have to do is eat a little less, work out a little more, and keep the whole thing tight.

It was brilliant, flaw-proof even. She was the one who controlled her meals, nobody else told her what to eat. "You got yourself into this mess," Garnet mumbled to herself, "You can get yourself out." She rubbed away a stray tear that had fallen from her eyes, took one last look in the mirror, and went to bed herself.


	3. Feathers

_Beep beep beep_

The 6am alarm on Garnets phone sounded, muffled by the heaps of blankets and pillows covering it.

_Beep beep beep_

"Shut up..." Garnet mumbled, half awake with a pillow over her head and half sprawled across her queen sized bed, and arm and a leg hanging off the edge.

_Beep beep beep_

"I sa'd shut up..." Garnet opened her eyes, searching her room for the source of the sound. Waking up enough to put 2 and 2 together that it was her alarm clock, Garnet pulled the blankets off her bed in order to search for her phone. 

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

No longer muffled by the blankets, the phone screeched, stopping after a click on the home button. Flopping back down on her bed in a desperate attempt to get just a few seconds more sleep, Garnet shut her eyes, pulling the blankets back over her head.

She slowly crawled out of bed, turning to her dresser for that days running outfit with her phone in hand. Checking the weather beforehand, she threw on her signature two toned purple and black leggings and a sweatshirt, tying her running shoes before walking out of her room.

Garnet went straight to the kitchen, following her routine of a protein bar before she went for her early morning run. Stopping with her hand in the box, she picked up the package and read the label on the side.

**Nutrition Facts**

**Calories               270**

**Fat                       3g**

**Carbohydrates    12g**

**Sugar                   9g**

**Protein                18g**

"270 calories..." Garnet said to herself, putting the bar back in the box. She bit her lip, taking out her phone and opening Google. 

**How many calories does a 3 mile jog burn?**

Hitting enter, she waited for it to load before closing her phone and placing the box of protein bars back under the cupboard. She didn't want her run to go to waste. Shoving her earbuds into her ears and tying her hair back, Garnet let the door swing shut behind her, as she did her morning run.

Twice.

She got back at 7, a half hour later than usual. Kicking off her shoes at the door she instantly went to the fridge for a glass of water.

"Oh, Garnet. You're back late." Pearl was slicing fruit for the bowls of oatmeal she was baking for Steven and herself. Taking a split second to think, Garnet replied. "Slept in." 

Pearl nodded, carrying her breakfast over to the kitchen island and sitting down to eat. Avoiding breakfast, Garnet left to go to the bathroom for a shower. "Aren't you hungry?" Pearl asked, turning around in her chair. 

"Ate before I went." Lying was already becoming easier, and it made things all the while better that Pearl was so gullible. The pale gem just nodded, not giving it a second thought.

Walking into the bathroom, Garnet instantly went to the scale.

184

2 pounds already? She could get down 10 pounds in a week. Garnet smiled at her progress, feeling lightheaded but happy.

 


End file.
